034: How to be Unique in Your Industry

Hello, and welcome again to the Scaling Up Business Podcast. I'm your host and Gazelle's business coach, Bill Gallagher. We have another special show this week. We're gonna do a live coaching call with one of our clients on being unique, how to be unique, how to stand apart, how to be your own kind of company, how to differentiate yourself, your company, and stop fitting in, how to do something a little different and not just keep trying to be like everybody else. So that's the topic of our show today. How do you get at that? How do you figure out where the gold is? And I know that each of us would really love to take on and stand apart in the coming year and do something unique. So that's one of the key things that we are always looking for when working with our clients, is how to figure out that part of it. So talking with me today is one of our newest clients, Don Smith. He's the owner and founder of Elite Electronics and Don in the Dallas area. And I'm so excited about Don and his company and his team, and you'll hear some of that as we go through. But what Elite Electronics does is maybe not entirely clear from the name, but they're a very unique kind of car mechanic. So Don's company provides electronic, automotive, electronic, and mechanical kinds of work to places like body shops. So instead of sending the car to the dealership, when they're done with the bodywork or the painting or whatever else they've done to connect up the airbags, to get the motor running again, to deal with whatever kinds of parts might not be running, Don's team of mobile mechanics does it on site. And I just love this team because they are out to grow and dominate like nobody's business. So welcome to the show, Don.

Thanks, Bill. I appreciate it.

All right, thanks for talking with us today on this unique thing. So I picked you to do this topic because you're already doing something that's unique. I mean, you have auto mechanics, but the way that you work is totally unique and is part of why you're growing right now. Right. You provide something common but in a unique way to a unique set of people that really has you stand out. So congratulations on already being part of the way there.

Well, thanks.

But let's explore a little bit. So we're going to look at what are you great at? What are you not so great at? What are the kinds of things that you've done to fit in over time? What are things that have gotten you into trouble? What do clients and old bosses say about you. And then we'll talk about some of the work that we use to get at this with clients in different ways, because we really want everybody to stand on their own merits and not just be like everybody else. And we want that not only for our client companies, but also for. For the executives, the leadership within each of the companies. So, first of all, just as we introduce this topic, what comes to mind to you? What are your thoughts about the broad topic that we're going for today?

You know, it's never been a topic I've put a lot of thought into. What we do is, like you said, very unique in itself. So I've never had to come up with this huge differentiator from. From what my other competitors offer, my competitive advantage, so to speak. It's been a natural thing for us. I think the topic that comes to mind for me is really how we're unique in the automotive industry and the automotive repair industry as far as treating our employees and, you know, retaining the best of the best. And by the way, great job on explaining what we do. That's one of the best explanations I've heard from somebody that is fairly new to knowing what we do.

Well, I have been with you for a couple months now. So tell me, how long have you been in this business?

November was 10 years.

November's 10 years. Right. So it didn't happen. I mean, you're starting to really grow now, but it's 10 years that you've been at it, been developing something that you're kind of getting to a place now where we can really grow significantly. How did you get into the business in the first place?

So I was working for a company that specialized in repairing vehicles that had been broken into. And we were replacing the radios and rebuilding steering columns, and they were a mobile company doing work for insurance companies. And that kind of transposed into the industry of replacing the airbags on cars that had been in wrecks. And the next thing you know, it transposed into this. And I had the opportunity to get into this business and start my own company, and I saw the need for the rest of it and went from there.

Beautiful. So you start with fixing, working with insurance companies and dealing with stolen radios, and then you get into airbags, and then it's kind of everything else. And your guys today can address almost anything that's not working with a car, besides fixing the paint and the body and the windows and that kind of thing, right?

Correct.

And of course, you go and you do that at the location of the other company, the other provider doing that now, so they don't have to take the time and energy to send it off to a place like a dealership to get that work done and then to come back to them again.

Right.

Huge benefit in time and money and ultimately customer service for them to provide a faster, more effective thing, right?

Absolutely. It really keeps them from one of the biggest. One of the big concerns for insurance companies. When your insurance is paying for your car to get repaired, they're also paying in most cases for a rental vehicle. So the quicker it can get done and keep that cycle time down, when they can save a day of rental on a vehicle here and there, you look at that over the entire nation, you know, however many vehicles they have in the shop at one time, and insurance companies such as Geico or Travelers or Farmers, you can save a day of rental. It's a huge deal for them.

So it really adds up. All right, so how we're going to do this? Let's start with our questions. We're going to start in with what are you great at? And then we're going to go into kind of how you fit in, and then we're going to actually probe a little bit at the kinds of things that have gotten you into trouble. We'll start first with personal things, and then we'll look at your business. Okay. And this is really appropriate to look both personally, personally and professionally at the two, especially if you're one of the senior leaders in a company or even the founder, owner, CEO of the business, because who you are in your core has such an impact on the whole thing. So we're interested in both of these. This can have an impact both on the way you run the business, but also how you run your own career, your professional life. First of all, with you, what. What were you great at in school over the years as a kid?

Being social.

Being social. Okay.

I think being social and math, I was really good at math.

Aha. So you were good at social and math and anything else.

I was average at everything else. Science I was pretty good at, but everything else, I was pretty average. Not. Not outstanding, but not. I didn't struggle in any areas. Okay.

Now think about your first jobs. The first couple things are the first. And even when you got started doing this, what were you great at then?

You know, I think I was pretty good at just being a sponge and really absorbing everything. I've got a pretty excellent memory as far as when somebody tells me something to be able to retain that information and recall it as needed. So I would say being a sponge would really be my asset on my first job.

Uh huh. So kind of a learner. And how do you think, what made you good at sponging? Where did you access that?

You know, what made me good at it? I guess just the desire to learn more. It's probably like anything else. It's really easy to be better than average or good at something when you enjoy it or when you're passionate about it. And you know, like a lot of entrepreneurs, I'm a lifetime learner, lifelong learner, so it made it fairly, fairly easy for me.

Okay. And when you think more recently, what are you great at? What do you think now in your life, in your career?

You know, probably the career wise, biggest accomplishment that I can as an entrepreneur is delegation. That was something that took a long time for me to acquire that art and that skill and become proficient at it. Because it's something that I think a lot of small business owners feel like if they're delegating too much then, or at least I did, maybe others don't, but I felt like if I was delegating too much then other people think that I'm not doing enough for the company and I'm just the guy collecting the paycheck. And then it becomes you're working for the man who's doing nothing but making all the money. And I never wanted that thought or that vision to be in my employee's mind. And so learning how to do it without that, and also at some point having to realize that if that happens, that's okay because you have earned that right.

So that's one of the things you're good at right now, right?

Yes, sir.

And anything else that you find that you're really great at lately, you know.

Nothing really stands out. Just an average guy.

With a rapidly growing company that you spent 10 years building, but, you know, just average. So you got some of that nice modesty with a southern style. All right. And what do you think your business is great at? You think about your work, your team.

You know, it's funny you should ask. I was having this conversation today with my insurance agent who, who had made some mistakes and maybe not, maybe not taking care of us the way that he had hoped, nor the way I'd hoped. And he was really, he was coming across saying, you know, hey, I want to make sure this doesn't affect our relationship as a friend first. But secondly, let you know that whatever it is, we're going to take care of it. And we're also Going to see what we can do in our process to fix it and let it not happen again for you or anybody else. And so the. In answer to your question, what we're great at is very similar to what he's good at is when we, when we make a mistake, we own up to it and we, A, fix the problem, B, go in and take care of the situation. So if we, if we cause the customer to be in a rental car two days longer, you know, we're gonna, we're gonna pay for that two days of rental. If we told the customer to buy the wrong part, we're gonna, we're gonna pay for that. And lastly, we're gonna figure out what we did wrong and how we can prevent it from happening again. And that's, that's what, you know, that's part of my sales pitch when I'm talking to my customers is, look, you can take these cars anywhere and get them fixed, and who's going to be by your side when they mess up, and who's going to be your partner in this in the long run?

So you're fully accountable. You own and fix your mistakes, and you do root cause analysis for problem solving, so you don't keep making the same ones.

And you're just so good at saying that in really such short a time.

I should be a coach.

You should check into that.

All right, so let's attack this. Thanks. If there's anything else that comes up, just chime in and we'll add it back to the notes. But let's look at what you've done to fit in. So when you think about the struggles you had to fit in, times when you didn't fit in, what were you doing where you didn't fit in, and what did you do to fit in.

In school, you're probably not asking the right person, because I've really never been one to go out of my way to fit in. You know, if you look at my culture index and, you know, my social, my social aptitude test, all that stuff, I want to be liked. It's important for me to be liked. But at the same time, I would much rather persuade them to my way of thinking than succumb to their way of thinking and try to fit in, if that makes sense.

It totally makes sense. Yeah.

I guess for me to fit in, it's been to persuade them to my way of thinking is the answer to your question.

It's really great. Okay, good. And then when you think about your first jobs, the beginning of your career, what did you do there to fit in?

Yeah, I really wasn't good at that. You're supposed to. I've always been taught you should. To be a good leader, you have to be a good follower first. And it took me about 10 years of military experience to learn how to be a good follower. And about the time I was getting out, I was starting to learn how to become a good follower. I was just never really good at it. I saw the imperfections and the ways that in my opinion, things could have been done better, and I was pretty outspoken about it. So trying to fit in has never been my strong suit.

That's great. And you were in the Air Force, though?

Yes.

For 10 years?

Yes, sir.

Well, I was in the Air Force for less than four. I got towards the end of my four years, and I knew I was getting out, and they certainly knew I was getting out. And they had one of these things that they have every now and then to balance the budget of force reduction. And they said, all right, everybody who's not re upping let them out early. So about 10 months early, they let me out. I was unsuitable for military service, but honorably discharged, and I was clear that I was very happy to get out, and yet I learned so much from it. So you learned and you weren't good at it, but you obviously were better at it than me because you were in for 10 years.

Oh, absolutely. Well, not absolutely that I was better at it than you, but absolutely I did learn from it. I. I learned how to be a leader. It took me a long time to learn how to be a follower, but under the different, you know, having all these different sergeants and whatnot that were above me, I learned what worked on me and what worked on other airmen and soldiers in the military and what didn't, as far as leadership skills. So those are the things. I've actually reached out to a lot of those guys and told them I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for your leadership and the skills you taught me and how to lead people.

So that was the beginning of learning some leadership skills. And you learned both how to lead and how to follow. And it sounds like you had to learn how to follow first and then slowly develop your own leadership.

Yes, sir.

And then when you think about more recently now, what do you do? Where do you work to fit in? Now, it could be like someplace where you totally feel at home. Maybe it's with school, parents, or some social circle or some other place where you feel A little bit out of place. And then there's something you do to try to fit in. What do you do there and where don't you feel at home?

You know, I would have to say probably the biggest thing for me right now is I'm the den leader for my son's Cub Scout pack. And at my house, my children are. They're used to a military experience that's softened up, obviously, for children, but they know that they don't get away with much. And at the same token, they respect and they normally don't try to get away. I've got really good kids, and I'd like to attribute that to the way I've raised my kids. And so where I don't fit in is when the boys come over for Cub Scouts, and we're talking first graders here to give you an idea when they're coming over and other parents are. Their kids are running amok. And I'm biting my tongue to be as polite as possible to their children, who I'm thinking, wow, I feel sorry for your child when they become an adult, because it's not their fault. Because I see the way, you know, in my opinion. Right. I try to preface everything, not say that I'm always right, but in my opinion, these people just don't know how to parent. And it's very hard to fit in when you're having to lead their children and teach their children and you're not getting support from the parents.

So I think what I'm hearing is that there are places. So being a den leader is a place that challenges you because you have to look at other people's kids. And. And you're a dad who has a particular view of compassionate and not rigid, but definitely some discipline with your kids. And when you see these other kids in these other Cub Scouts, you have judgments about them, but then you work to be diplomatic and you reserve your counsel until you find the right way to say something or do something with it.

Absolutely. Diplomatic is not my strong suit.

Well, let's come back. We're going to tie into something else in just a minute. Now, talk to me about your business. Where do you feel like your business works to fit in, struggles to fit in, works hard at fitting in? And what do you do?

I think the biggest challenge for us in that area right now is as we've grown from, and I'll use the terminology I've used with my employees from the small business that, oh, we don't need an employee handbook or a small business that we don't need this or that. We don't need to keep those kind of records to now. Well, we're a little bit bigger and we need all that stuff. We fit in and having that corporate. Trying to not have the corporate vibe and not be a corporation and be a family business, but yet you still have to have a lot of that corporate stuff, that yucky stuff that nobody wants to talk about. Nobody wants to have. You still have to have it in some regards. And we have a hard time fitting in there because I'd just rather do without all of it.

Well, but clearly you recognize something because you hired us to work with you and help you bring some good practices and formality to something because you recognize there's something. Something there to love and embrace and find a way. And, of course, we will always espouse bringing your own values to life in all of these things and doing them in a way that still feels unique and authentic to you. So I get you're grappling with that. Much like learning to be diplomatic and find the time with Cub Scouts. You're figuring out how to do these things for your growing business, but do them in a way that feels like you haven't given up something of your soul.

Sure.

Okay, great. Let's go into a little different place then. And I'm going to loop back and point out this other assessment tool that we used before with you, and we'll see what it reveals. But before we do that, let's look at what got you into trouble. So, in school, right? What kinds of things got you into trouble that you can still share about, you know, statute of limitations and all? And how did you handle those things?

I never really got into much trouble. Probably the things that I got into trouble for were pretty silly, like sleeping.

You can tell we have a train here? Probably.

Yeah. Is that a background effect you've got going there?

So my office and. And our studio is in a. And not a very good audio studio, but it's right near the train tracks in the Bay Area, near San Francisco. And there's both the freight trains, the Amtrak, and they all run right down within a block of my office. So sometimes.

Nice.

It adds color and atmosphere. All right. So in school.

In school, the things that got me in trouble were really either sleeping in school, skipping class, and just goofing off, but I was always smart enough to know what I could get away with, if that made sense. You know, I could always push it to the edge. I knew what classes I could skip and fail that I didn't need the credit. Already had enough credits to graduate with. So I never really got in too much trouble, you know, I was never into drugs. I was never, you know, that kind of stuff. My dad was a police officer and I wasn't the typical preacher son. I was the. Not quite the choir boy, but just a little bit rougher around the edges. Just not, just not too rough to where I got in any serious trouble.

So being smart and strategic, maybe.

I could say that that almost got me, you know, being smart, strategic got me into trouble.

Well, it sounds like that's also how you got out of trouble. Was being smart, strategic about managing it, about keeping it from getting too far out of line.

Right.

Was there anything else you did to sort of survive, adapt personally? Think about the beginning of your career, your first jobs, what kinds of things got you into trouble?

Really? My mouth and not holding my tongue when I should have always either whether it be not holding my tongue, as in somebody was doing something that I didn't like and I spoke out about it or being quiet, you know, when you're a peon, so to speak, and you just need to sit there and listen. I've just never really been good at that.

Really good. Okay, good. And then revealing. Right. And thanks for opening up in this because I'm going to share this with thousands of people now. Right. And then more recently, what kinds of things have gotten you into trouble?

You know, so fortunately now I'm not in a position where I really have to sit and listen. But oddly enough, some of the same things still get me in trouble even though I don't have to sit and listen. You know, it's still an invaluable asset to be able to sit and listen. And I've still not fine tuned it all the way so that occasionally creeps up and not holding my tongue. I've really, as I've matured, I've probably matured opposite in some ways, if that makes sense. Unmatured in some ways as in I think most people mature and they care more about what other people think. And I could be completely wrong, but for certain for me is I care a lot less now about what other people think. I just. And maybe I just reach that level sooner than other people because I think it, you know, like I envision people that are 60, 70, that, you know, they don't care what other people think. I'm not quite 40 and I've really don't care what other people think. So my mouth still gets me in trouble with that a lot.

Okay. And then think about not just you now, but your whole business. What kinds of things have gotten your business in trouble?

Probably the most recent thing is me, not me thinking that me having such a positive attitude and that, oh, everything will work out here. Recently we've had a no large losses on our auto claims, but we've had a high frequency. And the insurance companies would almost rather you have one big loss and a very low frequency than a high frequency. Because if you have a high frequency, they feel like that the next shoe, the big shoe, is going to drop, so to speak. So not being aware of that and involved in that and creating a hardcore policy for the employees if they have an accident is going to cost me upwards of $200,000 additional premium.

Yeah, well, that's a significant number, right? For lots of us. You could spend that lots of different ways on people, on projects, on lots of things.

Sally.

So you shared some great stories and we looked at what you're great at, what you've done to fit in, the kinds of things that got you into trouble. We looked through school, your early jobs more recently, and then we looked at your actual business. And I made some notes as we went through. And as I look back though, to something else. Another tool that we've used with you in the past, that is a computer assessment tool called Gallup Strengths Finder. So we used it with you and your leadership team. We use it with all the leadership teams and sometimes with the whole companies that we work with. In your case, we looked at your 34 strengths. So Gallup StrengthsFinder is like many things. Many of our listeners will be familiar with tools like disc, which use four letters and they score you in these different letters and how high or low you are in each of them. Well, Gallup uses 34 strengths to look at what you're good at, interested in, and could really develop as key strengths. And it tells you your top five, or if you pay a little more money, it tells you all 34. We're looking at what it is that you can do to be uniquely you within the organization and then surround yourself with people who are uniquely complementary so we get an effective team. That's the people side of our four decisions. And then on the strategy side, how does your company be unique?

Right.

So you go out there and you provide certain services and we want to figure out what it is that people value in you so that we know that what can they count on? So there's three questions for you to take out to your key clients and maybe even old bosses. But probably just key clients now in the past, in your case, if you are starting a brand new company, you might ask old bosses to get a little more personal insight to it. But we want to ask them, why did they choose you? So the first time they used you, what was it that stood out that had them choose you? And then the second question is, well, now that they've been working at you for a while, what do they feel like you're actually good at? Right. And sometimes there's a difference between why somebody initially chose you and why they kept using you, which is probably what you're good at. And then the third question is, what's odd or even annoying about you? Odd, unusual, or annoying. So these are the three questions. I like to develop our uniqueness and our brand promises and figure out where we stand out. So let's just look at them for a minute. Let's speculate on them. Now, of course, you actually want to go out to some people. I did this and updated this recently for myself and I sent out to about 15 different key people within some variety of current and recent clients. And I asked them, why did you choose us when you first engaged us? And then now that you've spent some time working with us, what do you think we're actually great at and what is odd, unusual, or annoying about us? And I got back some interesting answers. So let's entertain those for a second and speculate on them. So why do you think they choose you initially?

I think initially it's the smart choice for them. In most of the markets we're in, we don't have any direct competition. So it's just a smarter choice to use us versus using somebody else. We're going to be a quicker, easier solution for them than the alternative.

And then over time, what do you think they find that you're actually good at?

We're really good at fixing cars and solving problems.

Okay.

They expect us to come in with a super after a few months time and their experience with us. Many of my customers will tell you they expect us to come in day in and day out with a Superman cape on and solve every problem they may have.

So really skilled at what you do. The person that is performing your work is actually really good at it. Not just a pulse.

Correct.

Fog in a mirror, as they say, right?

Yep. Fogging.

If you could still fog a mirror, well, he must be alive. So you're much, much more than that. All right. And then what do you think they would say is odd or even annoying about you?

You Know probably the dispatch system, the way that the calls are routed and how it gets back to the technician and the timeliness and the communication, anything along the pre work side, if that makes sense, from the time they call the job in to the time it actually gets started, would probably be their annoyance or odd duck, so to speak.

Okay, good. So one of the things that's interesting about that is to see if we can leverage that. Actually not necessarily do away with it, but can we use that to lock them in or can we use that to make our work more profitable? So if we can be really good at why they chose us and what we're great at, then is there some of that that we actually want to hang on to? The odd, unusual and annoying that has us stand out, that creates a barrier for others and sometimes there's something really interesting there to do. So after distilling down all of the key voices and stuff that we got back, we heard that number one, we have a really great framework. So the framework that we have, our primary framework and set of tools with gazelles, the Rockefeller habits and scaling up that whole body of work there is the leading thing that people come to us for, right? And lots of coaches don't have that. But then also all the other things that, that we use are really top notch things. Things like Gallup Strings Finder and then our ongoing authors and experts from our growth summits and so on. So that body of work is probably the first thing. And then the second thing is that I'm really a great facilitator, right? It's awkward to say it, but. But no, I know that I can kick ass leading a session and intuiting a group and moving them through spaces. Not that I don't ever screw something up, because I do. But I know with reliable consistency that I can deliver that work. Whether it's a couple hundred people in a big keynote workshop type thing or a small team session that I'm really at home there, right? So that's number two. And I got consistent comments like best facilitator I've ever met, world class, like lots of good things like that. So I can own that, right? The third thing is that I let the personality come out. So instead of trying to blend in or dumb it down or whatever, I share some jokes, I have a particular sense of humor, some people like it, some people don't. But instead of trying to go gray like I once did, I actually kind of let it come out more. So the kinds of places we try to choose when we Have a choice and where we're leading a session, the way we use music and humor and food and all of that to do, there's a kind of a personality that comes through. And that's the third thing that we work very hard to make it fun. I enjoy what I do. I make it fun. So we heard those three things. So high dose of personality is probably the most unique. Very, very skilled at delivering our material and then having the best material. Those are our three things that we came up with. And then we had some unusual things, not all of which I'm going to reveal here because they're a little bit more in our trade secret about what it takes to work with us and how we like to work with and you really need to comply with something. And as we distilled down then who answered and what answered, we also discovered, oh, actually, the only people that we really enjoy working with and can really make a difference are the people that are really hungry to grow. So if you're not somebody who's hungry to grow, we're not going to be a good fit for you. You've got to really, really want to grow the business and be up for something because you want to change the world, because you've got something to prove to your first grade teacher, because I don't know what, but there's something that drives you. And the second thing is that you're actually open to coaching. You're open to trying new ideas. You don't already feel like you know everything or you're willing to try new approaches. So that openness to coaching is not normal and not easy for everyone. And then the third thing that's really critical is that you be a fit for the personality, that you not be somebody who's irked by my particular style or the style of any of our associates in working with someone. So those are kind of our three criteria. And of course then we want somebody with a few leaders on their team or it's hard to do our kind of work. So that's what we're looking at to get at with you is figuring out what are the characteristics of those people and what are they actually responding to. So that's what makes your core customer and that's your brand promises. Those are some of the ways that we get at those things and a little bit different than they hear every time. So your job from here is to go asking from some of your clients, why do they choose you? What are you actually good at? And what's odd, unusual, or even annoying about you right now there's a couple. So that's your key homework to do. And we'll follow up with that in a later conversation after you've had a chance to ask them that. And we'll put those questions into the show notes that go along with this particular show. The last thing we want to do is point people to a couple of books that go along with this. So Dave Rendell, Freak Factor, and then Bob Bloom with the Inside Advantage and the Gallup Strengths Finder. So all those things will be in the show notes. And of course, we encourage you to subscribe now to our podcast on itunes or where, wherever you get your podcasts from. And you could download our growth kit using the link in the show notes, which contains everything you need to learn and to lead your own team sessions if you're not working with a coach. And you're of course, also welcome and invited to attend one of our workshops. So I want to thank you so much. I know we've been a little long in this particular show, but it's such a valuable conversation and topic and place to explore today, and I hope that it was interesting and useful for you. What do you think that your big takeaways are from the show today?

You know, I really want to go in and ask those questions to my customers, those three, you know, why did you start using us, why did you continue using us, and what's your annoyance or quirk with us? I want to find out what those answers are for our company.

Yeah, it's really great. And over time, of course, you can take that and turn that into powerful sales and marketing language that can tighten what you do and improve your gross margins.

That's always great.

All right, again for everyone, Dave Rendle, Freak Factor. Bob Bloom, Inside Advantage, the Gallup Strengths Finder. Subscribe to our podcast now, download the growth kit or attend one of our workshops. Thanks so much for being on the show. We'll see you next time.

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